Track and field is a part of the physical education programs of many high schools, junior high schools and elementary schools. Most children seem to enjoy all the track events, including hurdle training and races. However, some children are anxious when attempting to go over standard track hurdles. This anxiety arises because of the inherent danger associated with any object, such as a hurdle, that has the potential to trip them up, causing them to fall.
Some light weight adjustable hurdles have been used to address this issue, but the risk is still there for some students. The goal of hurdling is to run as close to top speed as possible and leap over the hurdles. However, known hurdles do not typically give way or break apart easily. Since this is known to many users, trying to leap over the standard hurdles of the type known in the prior art is still an anxiety producing event due to the fear of injury. It would be an advance in the art to provide a hurdle that easily gives way or comes apart when struck or fallen on by a user. If the athlete or physical education student was aware that the hurdle would give way easily, he or she would be far more likely to aggressively attack the hurdle at top speed, thus more quickly improving his or her hurdling ability.
However, once the hurdle gives way or breaks apart to thereby prevent injury to the person who has struck it, the hurdle must obviously be reset or reassembled before it can be used again. When younger children or relatively unskilled runners are using hurdles, it is common for them to frequently strike and knock a hurdle over. This means that someone, often a coach or teacher, must frequently reset or reassemble the hurdle. If this is an onerous or time consuming task, such as might happen if the hurdle splits into separate, disparate parts that must be individually picked up off the ground and put back together, then the time required for the task is a disincentive to the use of such a hurdle. Thus, there is a clear need in the art for a hurdle that easily gives way in some fashion to prevent injury and thereby decrease the user's fear of injury, but that is also easy and quick to reset.